1. Sultan Kösen and Merve Dibo

When the tallest man in the world gets married, you can bet we are talking about an odd couple.

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Sultan Kösen holds the Guinness World record for the world’s tallest man, standing a phenomenal 251 cm above the ground, Sultan probably had a hard time finding a woman like him, and eventually settled with someone enjoying the air richer in oxygen found at lower levels in the atmosphere.

Merve was introduced to Sultan through a mutual friend and love quickly led to the walk down the aisle. Merve is just 1.75 m tall, and the two look indeed odd together.

At this point, it helps to add that despite his stature Sultan was a shy man who always ended up scaring the women in his life. Things became easier for him once Guinness offered him the title. We wish them the best!

2. Ahmed Muhamed Dore and Safia Abdulleh

Africa is home to some of the oddest couples, and the explanation is simple.

People here have nothing against young girls sold into marriage. It doesn’t matter if prince charming is competing against a creepy old grandpa. The winner is the one with the higher offer (or with the largest number of cattle in his herd).

Ahmed Muhamed Dore was 112 years old when he married Safia back in 2009. The Somali elder already had five wives at that time, and the 17-year-old was a prized addition to his collection.

While some are happy that age was not a barrier against love, others tend to see the whole picture. Marriages are often just business, and the fate of thousands of young girls depends on luck.

3. Joelison and Evem

Love conquers all obstacles, and 1 meter in height difference is nothing.

For Joelison and Evem, each kiss is a challenged. The 2.30m Brazilian giant met the love of his life when he was 28 years old. It might sound strange for a man of his stature to be shy, but Joelison spent most of his young years avoiding social contacts as much as possible.

Evem started by being one of the many ordinary folks that admired Joelison. Soon enough, their friendship bloomed to love.

5. Amy Wolfe and 1001 Nacht

Stop right there! We are not talking nasty bedroom details here. Amy’s unusual love interest is a rollercoaster called 1001 Nachts (nights), for which she fell after riding a record 3,000 times.

How is that even remotely possible? Scientists say “yes, ” and they even have a name for it – objectum sexuality. Amy was most likely a child that faced difficulties while trying to get along with the others, not to mention finding a romantic partner. The ride offered her thrills never experienced before, thus explaining the unnatural connexion.

How is Amy cherishing her love? She has a photo of the fairground ride on her bedroom wall and keeps nuts and screws close by. Amy even contacted Park management and proposed.

Can you imagine the ridicule this odd couple faces each day? We don’t doubt 1001 Nachts has a heart of steel. The one we worry about is Amy.

Keeping up with traditions is sometimes dangerous. Check out the next odd couple!

6. Sanele and Helen

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Early on the list, we had an old marrying a little girl. What if we tell you it can also go the other way around?

Look no further than Africa for the next couple that defies all taboos the modern world has regarding romantic relationships. Not only was the marriage arranged and paid for, but it took place before the eyes of the real husband.

8-year-old Sanele married 61-year-old Helen in a ceremony that went by the book. The two exchanged rings and even shared a kiss, all under the eyes of Helen’s man.

The boy wanted the ceremony to be a way of cherishing and pleasing his ancestors. Don’t even attempt to understand the backbone of this tradition. South Africans might have imported the white wedding ceremony, but their tribal beliefs still thrive.

7. Liu Ye and Liu Ye

You might be over-obsessed with your person and still be light years away from what Liu Ye did.

The 43-year-old Chinese from Zhuhai married himself in a ceremony that raises a couple of interesting paradoxes. The ceremony in which he “exchanged vows” with a cardboard copy of himself wearing a traditional Chinese wedding gown might be the most absurd thing ever.

Do you count as gay if you marry yourself? How did the Chinese Communist government allow such an abomination to ruin the country’s reputation as extremely ethical and conservative?

“There are many reasons for marrying myself, but mainly to express my dissatisfaction with reality. This marriage makes me whole again.” That was Liu’s toast held in front of 100 guests.

Can you imagine the audience trying to act casual as Liu Ye invites himself to dance and kisses the lifeless cardboard? Love can be incredibly strange sometimes.

8. Mangli and Sheru

This poor 18-year-old from Eastern India listened to the village elders and married a stray dog. What’s the explanation behind this strange and unusual human-canine union?

The superstitious folks of rural India were convinced an evil spirit possessed young Mangli and that her first husband will get to suffer. Sheru’s role was to perform a cleansing and prepare her for a real marriage.

Just imagine being a tourist visiting the village while the ceremony was well underway. Your gut feeling would be to run away as quickly as possible and don’t look back. Or would you stay, hoping that a Bollywood-like scenario is seconds away from unfolding?

Let’s recap the reasons that make such a marriage not a bad idea. Dogs never cheat and don’t spend the nights down at the local pub. On the other hand, all that they can provide for the family are bones and the occasional dead cat.

9. Jayla Cooper and Jose Griggs

What happens when the doctors give you only a couple of weeks left to live, and you still didn’t start chasing your biggest dreams?

When 9-year-old Jayla Cooper was diagnosed with leukemia in a terminal phase, her biggest regret was that she would never get to wear a white dress and go down the aisle. However, her family walked all the needed miles to make that dream come true.

The hardest part about staging a wedding is finding a groom ready to play his role. During her stay at the Children’s Medical Hospital in Dallas, Jayla befriended Jose Griggs, a kid whose battle with leukemia went the other way.

At this point, it needs to be said that the state of Texas allows marriage with parental consent for teenagers older than 14. That’s why the union between Jayla and Jose was merely symbolical.

Uplifting as it is, this story did not have a miraculous continuation. Jayla Cooper lost her battle with leukemia but left with a smile on her face.

10. Zatera and Calvin Spencer

Zatera and Calvin Spencer are arguably the luckiest bastards in the history of humanity.

Winning the lottery and enjoying a care-free stroll through life is everyone’s biggest dream. This couple bought a winning ticket three times in just under one month.

Yep, you heard right. Ms. and Mr. Spencer did not settle with winning $1 million in the Virginia Powerball lottery. They kept on playing, and luck smiled back at them again.

A modest sum of $50,000 followed by another million made them confident they can join guys like Bill Gates at the top of the table without doing something revolutionary.

Nevertheless, one should remember all the incredible stories of those who won the lottery in the past and lost the money afterward. “We’re not finished yet.” are the exact words with which the Spencers announced they are not yet ready to give up the habit of picking numbers.

Let’s just hope they don’t spend all their money chasing what most experts consider mathematically impossible to happen.

11. Chadil Deffy and Ann Kamsuk

The story of Chadil Deffy and Ann Kamsuk proves one crucial point – life is short, and tragedy can strike at any moment.

Uninformed viewers might take the photo above as something that happens on a constant basis at weddings. The ceremony exhausted the bride, who fainted and had to be brought back to life with a kiss.

Unfortunately, that scenario works only in tales for children. TV producer Chadil Deffy granted his dead girlfriend the wish of getting married, in a funeral ceremony that made everyone cry to the point of dehydration.

Ann died in a car accident when she was just 29 years old. The two knew each other for ten years and had postponed the wedding on countless occasions due to their busy schedules.

This odd couple might prove the point that love is eternal. However, some of the viewers will probably get offended and see it as a manner of desecrating a corpse.

12. Paulo Gabriel da Silva Barros and Katyucia Hoshino

Paulo Gabriel da Silva Barros and Katyucia Hoshino made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the shortest married couple.

Dwarfism is a condition that typically sends people spiraling down into depression and hating the rest of the normal world. It was not the case here.

The two met on social media and got off on the wrong foot. Paulo used cheap pick-up lines and probably put their similarity too much up front. However, it didn’t take long until love prevailed.

Seeing little people enjoy life so much in this oversized world can make anyone’s day brighter. Although odd in the full sense of the word, this couple shows that it doesn’t matter what others say or think about you. Once you find your other half, all the background noise tunes down.

Paulo and Katyucia are still not sure if they should have a baby. The doctors told the potential mother that her small uterus would label a pregnancy as high risk.

13. Josef Fritzl and Elisabeth Fritzl

It’s a bit sick to call Josef Fritzl and Elisabeth Fritzl a couple, but their disturbing relationship fits the profile.

2008 was the year when the horror story emerged, shocking Austria and creating waves of indignation around the world. Josef Fritzl held his daughter Elizabeth captive for 24 years inside a basement.

No, that was not the biggest grounding ever administered by a parent. Josef abused poor Elizabeth numerous times, and seven children resulted.

Everything happened just meters below the house where Fritzl lived a normal life together with his wife, the mother of Elizabeth. The couple even adopted some of the children born out of incest, passing them as foundlings.

You will be sad to know the ordeal of Elizabeth and her children did not end with the abusive father sentenced to life in prison. Spending your entire adult life isolated from the outside world leaves permanent mental trauma.

The poor souls are still undergoing therapy, and we can only hope they will soon recover.

14. Anna Swan and Martin Van Buren Bates

Imagine being so different from the rest your only hope of solace is to share your life with someone just like you.

That was probably the argument that pushed Anna Swan and Martin Van Buren Bates to marry, a ceremony that mortified the ones who feared this was the first step towards a new race of giants.
19th-century newspapers called them the Giants of the Hills, but their existence was much more than a freak show. Their friendly nature made them most wanted wherever they traveled.

As for their ceremony, it took place in London and recorded an impressive attendance. Queen Victoria offered each a custom-made pocket watch, a gift worth $1,000,000.

What is even more remarkable about the Bates is that they lived long and healthy lives, something rather unusual for people suffering from gigantism. They commissioned a house and furniture built to accommodate their proportions.

We know what goes through your mind. Unfortunately, we lack spicy details. Can you imagine Anna and Martin living in today’s tabloid world?

15. Amanda Rodgers and Sheba

Even the Western culture can keep a blind eye on human-animal couples that walk down the aisle.

Meet Amanda Rogers, a 48-year-old socialite whose negative experiences with men pushed her into the arms of her beloved pet dog. As we look at the poor mutt’s face, we feel our mind exploding with questions.

Is this relationship strictly platonic? How did the minister interpret Sheba’s bark as a “yes?” Should someone call the police for animal abuse?

The strange wedding took place back in 2014 and had 200 guests (humans and pets) that went all the way to Split, Croatia, to attend what most considered an abomination.

We could laugh all we want at this odd couple, but no one is spared from the cruel lesson it serves. Amanda explains she chose Sheba because offered what no other partner was ever capable.

Listening and not judging, comforting in times of feeling low, and being there all the time are all arguments capable of striking a venomous arrow. Let’s add a great licking technique to conclude with a laugh.

16. Sal9000 and Nene Anegasaki

Technology has become so advanced that a new breed of couples is gradually taking over.

One Japanese young man decided that having a flesh and bone girlfriend is too much of a hassle and also incompatible with his otaku lifestyle. When you spend most of the day playing games, the virtual world becomes an obvious place to seek meaningful interactions and romance

Sal9000 married Nene Anegasaki, a video game character he met while playing a dating simulation game called Love Plus. The awkward ceremony was broadcasted live and concluded with him kissing his Nintendo DS.

Note that this odd couple came into being before augmented reality kicked off last year with Pokémon Go. With robots as partners already a big thing in Godforsaken places like Japan, no one knows if romance the way we know it today will survive in the future.

We can’t hope but notice this relationship is destined to end in tears. While Sal9000 pledged never to play another game, we doubt the husband will be able to resist the new game consoles Nintendo is set to release.